Sodom, Occupation Layer Ii Poem by Mark Sauer

To the salted desert God had blasted
Men soon returned, chastisement all forgot;
As brief as tears endure, exile lasted,
Then new fools crept to settle the same spot.
They raised again the shattered walls, the wells
Anew they dug; they plowed beneath black bones
In furrows neat, and trod upon the skulls.
They built new homes on burnt foundation stones
But never asked; nor met each other's eyes
As they sowed vines and orchards on scorched sand.
Come harvest, neighbors cheated, traded lies,
Lusted, sinned, - and feigned not to understand
Why wine soured, corn melted into dung,
And apples turned to ashes on their tongue.